The servants in the Li Mansion all knew that a distinguished guest was coming, but no one knew who it was. They only saw Aunt Lan busy preparing the room, bedding, mirrors, and suitcases for the guest, with a smile on her face. But there were also people who quietly prepared the room for the guest.
He said that he once saw Aunt Lan secretly shedding tears alone in the house.
"Aunt Lan, maybe she doesn't want the master to go to war!" Laifu, who is said to understand the master's thoughts best, revealed privately. For Shi Lan, who jumped from a guest to a master, they, the servants, don't have much ill feelings towards Shi Lan. Similar to
Things like this happen from time to time in any big house, so it's not surprising. Besides, Aunt Lan is always a good person. Like the master of the family, she is very polite to her servants.
"That's true. Every time I go on an expedition, I have to come back with injuries! Captain Zhou and the others are too useless. If I serve as my personal soldiers..." Lai Shou was indignant. Zhou Xing and several other members of the Li Mansion
The commanders of the soldiers all live in the courtyard of this house, and all their expenses are borne by the Li Mansion. In the eyes of the housekeeper and servants, Zhou Xing and others enjoy such good treatment, but they cannot let their master go unscathed.
Injury would be too much of a failure to do one's duty.
"Your little arms and legs are not strong enough to lead the master's horse. Let's forget it. Don't go out and embarrass our Li family!" All the servants joked in unison after hearing that Lai Shou's words were too loud.
"I, I can lift sixty kilograms of things. Last time I was practicing martial arts in the backyard, my master showed me a few moves!" Lai Shou was dissatisfied, jumped up, and retorted with gestures.
"Yes, you can lift a sixty-pound rice bag, but you will have to lie down in the den all day the next day! Go to work, it's dark and you can't clean the back garden, so be careful of your skins!" The housekeeper happened to pass by from the side.
He walked by, slapped Lai Shou on the back of the head, and cursed with a smile.
The servants stuck out their tongues and ran away laughing. The master of this family was very kind to everyone, especially when he was at home, he would always show unexpected care to many people. Therefore, as long as the master of this family was there, he would be in the yard.
There will be a lot more laughter. But everyone knows that the master is going on an expedition again. At home, Aunt Lan has already wiped his weapons again and again. Outside, there are county soldiers carrying knives and riding horses and mules.
You can see it everywhere. "This time we are going to defeat the Wagang Army. After defeating the Wagang Army, the whole of Henan will settle down!" Many people in restaurants and teahouses commented like this. Except for the family members of the participants, few people were interested in the war.
The result was worrying. "With Mr. Zhang here, have our Qijun brothers ever lost a battle?" the drinkers said loudly, their faces flushed from drinking, and every pore was filled with pride.
Before the distinguished guests arrived, the Li family received the good news that their master had been promoted to an official position. In June of the eleventh year of Daye, His Majesty the Emperor decreed that in view of Chou County Bo Li Xu's outstanding military exploits, he was granted the title of Weicheng Township.
After Marquis, the number of households increased to 1,000. (Note 3). His official position was not promoted because he had just been promoted a few months ago.
In another imperial edict that came with him, His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty promoted Zhang Xutuo to the post of Tongshou of Xingyang, Ambassador of Xuanwei to the counties in Henan, and the title of Dr. Zuo Guanglu (Note 4), marking a great time for the Holy Family.
In comparison, the rewards given to Qin Shubao and Luo Shixin were a little shabby. Qin Shubao was awarded the title of Feudal Jiewei, and Luo Shixin was awarded the title of Yunqiwei. Both of these titles are honorary titles awarded to military generals. In addition to having a better reputation,
He had no real power. Perhaps he realized that rewards are difficult to repay merits. As compensation for the two of them, the imperial edict announced that each of Qin and Luo would be rewarded with a thousand pieces of satin, which were awarded by local officials from the treasury.
After receiving the imperial edict, the old prefect Pei Caozhi immediately grimaced. In this turbulent era, Zhang Xutuo, Li Xu, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin and others were no different from the patron saints of Qi County in his eyes. And His Majesty the Emperor transferred Li Xu's fiefdom
It was moved from Chou County to Weicheng near Wagang Mountain, and Zhang Xutuo's general guard position was transferred from Licheng, which was far away from the Eastern Capital, to Xingyang, which is close to the Eastern Capital. This was clearly urging everyone to send troops to quell the chaos as soon as possible.
Use local unrest as an excuse to delay time.
"Fortunately, Your Majesty also left the heavy wood to me!" After Pei Caozhi lamented, he was secretly glad in his heart. His Majesty's imperial edict touched almost everyone who had meritorious service, including the Beihai Commandery who followed Qi Commandery on several military expeditions.
Wu Yulin received the concurrent title of a court official, but he did not mention Dugu Lin, who was closely related to the royal family. With the power of the Dugu family, it was absolutely impossible for the courtiers to dare to devour Dugu Lin's reward. In this way, the only
The remaining explanation is that after Zhang Xutuo was transferred to Xingyang Tongshou, the imperial court planned to leave the position of Qijun Tongshou to Dugu Lin.
Thinking of this, Pei Caozhi calmed down a little. He took a few steps forward, raised his fists and saluted the imperial envoy Eunuch Wen who came to convey the order, and said politely: "My lord, you have been working hard all the way. Please come to the side hall and sit down for a while.
Wait until the official orders someone to serve you tea!"
Eunuch Wen was a well-known and virtuous eunuch beside His Majesty the Emperor. He never tried to bribe him, so everyone did not taint his eyes with yellow or white things. After carefully putting away the imperial edict, they gathered around and expressed their opinions to him.
Greetings.
"Did father-in-law come by water or by land? How long did it take?"
"Is it safe on the highway? Have you encountered any trouble?"
"My lords may ask, my family took a boat down from Luoshui ten days ago. We walked slowly and leisurely along the Yellow River and Jishui River. I think the thieves must have sharp eyesight and saw that my boat had a shallow draft, so they felt that it was not worth it.
Let's take action once. So, it's been quite peaceful on this journey!" Speaking of the journey, Wen Yidao cupped his hands and answered with a smile, with a hint of pride on his brows.
In this era of war and chaos, he dared to walk from Luoyang to Licheng with only a dozen followers. Not to mention the hardship of the journey, his courage alone was enough to make everyone admire him. "My father-in-law is so courageous!" Zhang Xutuo clasped his fists.
, Salute. "But Zhang has something unclear, and I would like to ask my father-in-law to give me some advice!"
"Master Zhang, do you want to ask our family about why the imperial court did not reward Captain Dugu?" Before Zhang Xutuo could mention it, Eunuch Wen had already clearly guessed what he was thinking, "Before coming, the Holy Father also said
I gave two oral orders, one to Marquis Li and the other to Governor Dugu, but our family still hasn’t had time to say anything. Since you mentioned it, please lend me a room and let me go in and talk!"
Since the founding of the late Emperor, His Majesty the Emperor has approached his ministers in a very formal way. Except for those who are extremely close, few oral orders have been issued. Especially in a place like Licheng, which is relatively far away from Dongdu, if it is not the nearest
In the past two years, the county soldiers have been successful in suppressing bandits, but there are very few imperial edicts, let alone oral edicts.
Who would have expected that the oral instructions would not come easily, and once they came there were two. After hearing this, the eunuch Pei Caozhi quickly ordered people to vacate the second hall of the government office, serve tea, and then bring the imperial envoy and the two "favorite ministers" who needed to give the oral instructions.
Please go in. A group of civil and military personnel from Qi County formed a circle outside the second hall from a distance to prevent others from approaching and eavesdropping.
"Two generals, please sit down. Since your Majesty doesn't write down what he wants to say to you on paper, he just doesn't want you two to be constrained. Counting this, this is the seventh time I have delivered an oral message to your Majesty. There are two at a time.
This is a rare blessing in my life!" Seeing that the doors and windows had been closed, Wen Yidao smiled and said.
"General, thank you for your grace!" Li Xu and Dugu Lin clasped their fists at the same time and bowed to the ground.
"Thanks are due. Your Majesty cares about you two very much." Wen Yidao also stood up straight and accepted the thanks from the two ministers on behalf of Yang Guang, and then praised with a somewhat envious tone.
"How virtuous and capable is the general? Your Majesty is worried about it and is very frightened!" Li Xu and Dugu Lin paid their respects again and expressed their thanks.
"There is no need to be afraid. Before coming, Your Majesty asked me to ask General Li, I heard that you secretly took in the daughter of the bandit leader Shi Zihe, is this true?" Wen Yidao nodded with a smile, then raised his face and asked
.
"Last general?" Li Xulu was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that someone in the imperial court would also ask about his private affairs. Someone must have used this matter as an excuse in the court, so your majesty sent someone to ask me.' I thought.
At this level, he couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment in his heart. After pondering for a while, he replied loudly: "It is indeed true! The general thought that the punishment of the saint was not as bad as that of his wife and slaves. Shi Zihe had already been defeated and died. He
My daughter is no different from the daughters of ordinary people! Therefore, I accepted her without telling her."
Xuzi didn't think he had done anything wrong. According to Sui Dynasty law, the status of a concubine was only higher than that of a slave. He had already paid the atonement money for Shi Erya, and no one else had the right to make any arrangements for her in the future.
